Constellation Properties
The Bluff City’s most famously blighted skyscraper becomes a front-page comeback story.
Constellation Properties, led by Memphis native Stuart Harris, is a mission-driven real estate development firm specializing in adaptive reuse and complex in-fill development projects. In March 2023, Constellation acquired the Sterick Building, a 29-story, 340,000-square-foot Gothic Revival tower in Downtown Memphis that had been vacant for nearly four decades. Once heralded as “the Queen of the South” and the skyline’s most distinctive asset, the building’s redevelopment had been stalled by a complicated and unusual ownership structure and 99-year ground lease.
Stuart and his team brokered a new ownership arrangement that united the building and land for the first time in nearly a century. News about the tower's next era would be one of the most exciting real estate stories in years.
The situation
Despite its architectural beauty and strategic location, the Sterick’s redevelopment was considered extraordinarily challenging, fraught with legal complications, physical deterioration, and loads of public skepticism. On top of all that, the submarket of downtown Memphis where it sat had not seen significant investment in years, even as other parts of the core city were growing more vibrant.
How could Constellation shift the public’s perception from disbelief to enthusiasm? How could they establish their own legitimacy while not overpromising on timeline or specific uses? Their announcement needed to balance their bold vision for the future with clear-eyed realities of the present.
The solution
Coeo’s initial work focused on several key audiences, including state and local policymakers, business leaders, and longtime downtown stakeholders, who needed to see the Sterick acquisition as a bold, carefully orchestrated effort worthy of civic investment.
Coeo coordinated a high-impact earned media strategy that resulted in three major front-page stories across the region’s leading outlets:
Memphis Business Journal (March 31, 2023): An in-depth behind-the-scenes feature on the two-year process Harris led to acquire the building and land
Daily Memphian (March 31, 2023): A public-facing announcement with endorsements from the Downtown Memphis Commission and Greater Memphis Chamber
Memphis Magazine (July 4, 2023): A longform profile of Harris and his vision for transforming the tower into a mixed-use anchor for the neighborhood
Coeo continues to guide Constellation Properties on public messaging, positioning, and outreach to federal, state, and local policymakers. As project planning continues, Coeo is helping make the case that investing in the Sterick and surrounding “HiFi District” aligns with Memphis’s ongoing downtown resurgence.
The impact
The immediate outcome was a rare trifecta: three well-reported, widely circulated pieces of earned media that reset the narrative around one of Memphis’ most notable but neglected properties. Government officials, business leaders, and community partners now view the project as not only viable, but essential to the future of Downtown Memphis. The coverage established Stuart Harris and Constellation Properties as responsible, credible stewards of this icon who are in it for the long haul, not a quick buck.
